"BUT IT SEEMS TO ME..."

Your child has beliefs. Those beliefs come from somewhere and those beliefs they guide your child's life. Herein is the problem. The vast majority of Americans get their belief systems from the culture... a little bit of church, a little bit of what grandma said years ago and a little bit o f late night radio!

When combined these factors create what I like to call the "It seems to me..." syndrome. When a situation calls for an evaluation, the moral or ethical response of the child (or adult) comes from a compendium of earthly factors rather than scripture.

When the child is faced with a dilemma or moral decision his or her mind summarily rejects God's truth with the statement (verbal or mental) "But it seems to me that...."

The problem is serious and fundamental. It is serious because your child is making life-determining decisions based on those factors. It is fundamental because it goes to the core of his or her world view.

Every person asks himself or herself, "Who has the responsibility to make final decisions about my life?" The proper answer is actually "self". We are not Calvinists. God has given us the authority to make free will decisions. We can choose to sin or to obey God.

However, the next self question should be, "Who has the right to decide what genuine truth really is? The answer is, "God alone."

The debate is not "Who gets to make my decisions?" but rather "Who decides what is right and wrong?"

A difficult but vital reality is that God decides right and wrong. Mankind merely recognizes it or fails to. Yes, each individual must make his or her moral judgments, but on what are those moral judgments based... a cultural compendium or God's word?

Some decisions that are seriously at risk:

  • Salvation: "It seems to me that since God is a loving God everyone will be saved," or "It seems to me that I can get saved my own way!"
  • Morality: "It seems to me that since this love feels so right that it must be approved by God! Doesn't He want me to be happy?"
  • Doctrine: "It seems to me that Jesus would view it this way so that must be
    right."
  • Marriage: "It seems to me that since my spouse is so mean that I should divorce and have a right to remarry."
  • School: "It seems to me that this math stuff is useless so I am going to cut math class from now on."

    The basis of the problem is a personal decision to allow self to become the final arbiter, to allow self to rule above scripture and above God, Himself. A person who does this is dethroning God and enthroning self. The scary reality is that this heinous process is almost always unrecognized by the person doing it.

    As a parent, you can combat these errors with regular family Bible reading, daily committed prayer time as a family, and personal submission to God's

    word as a practical principle in your own life. As your children see you submit your human, earthly, cultural logic to God's word then they will begin to combat problems in their own lives with biblical truths rather than "It seems to me...."

    Some useful teaching tools (NASB):
    Proverbs 14:12, "There is a way which seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death." (Same quote is also found in Proverbs 16:25)
    Jeremiah 17:9, "The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can understand it?"

  • Romans 1:21, "For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God, or give thanks; but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools...."
  • Colossians. 2:8-9, See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ. For in Him all the fulness of Deity dwells in bodily form...."

    Please notice in Colossians 2:8-9 that earthly philosophies and traditions of men can actually take a person "captive." That is precisely how Satan works. When the mind is captive the logic is earthly not heavenly.

    Four hundred and fifteen times in New American Standard Bible we see, "Thus says the Lord...." Perhaps its time to more diligently teach your children. Perhaps its time we more clearly live it ourselves.

    Ray Wallace
    1100 Dahlia Street
    Denver, Colorado 80220

    For further study: Ephesians 4:22; Matthew 13:15; Romans 1:18-23; Josh McDowell's book The New Tolerance;

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